Mark Cavendish MBE, the greatest sprinter in the history of the Tour de France, will compete at the fifth edition of Phynova Six Day London in the capital between October 22-27.

Cavendish, who as well as winning a phenomenal 30 Tour de France stages has also won multiple world championships on both the road and track, will be vying for the London title as he returns to Six Day London following two thrilling performances in 2016 and 2017.

His entry in the elite international cycling series follows the announcement that long-standing rival, Elia Viviani, will compete at Six Day for the first time in London. The duo have enjoyed healthy competition for years both on the road and track, regularly going toe-to-toe in sprint finishes.

Cavendish said: "I am incredibly excited to announce that I'll be back competing at Phynova Six Day London in October at the iconic velodrome.

"Six Day London is one of the UK's leading track cycling events, and from previous experience I know how competitive the field will be. It's a great event for elite cyclists and it allows another opportunity to prepare for 2020 in the most competitive arena, against some of the best riders in the world.

"It's also a fantastic event for the crowd and the atmosphere is always amazing in the velodrome.

"I am pleased to see Elia Viviani named as a fellow rider at Phynova Six Day London, he is a quality athlete and we have always enjoyed a healthy rivalry so I'm sure we will give the fans something exciting to watch."

The Six Day Series returns to London for a fifth consecutive year. In 2018/19 the global series hosted some of the world's finest cycling elite at events in London, Berlin, Copenhagen, Melbourne, Hong Kong, Manchester and Brisbane, engaging more than 100,000 fans.

You may also want to watch:

In 2019/2020 the Six Day Series will visit six race locations and the finale will be hosted in Brisbane for a second year in a row between April 3-5, 2020.

Six Day Brisbane forms part of the Brisbane Cycling Festival (March 12-April 5) and is set to showcase Australia's Olympic hopefuls on their 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games campaign.

James Durbin, chief executive of Madison Sports Group, promoter of Six Day Series, said: "We are delighted to follow the announcement of Italian Olympic gold medalist Elia Viviani's involvement in Six Day London with confirmation of one of Britain's finest in Mark Cavendish.

"Cavendish is not only one of the greatest cyclists of all time, but also a favourite of the Phynova Six Day London crowd and we are thrilled he is coming back to take on the sport's in-form sprinter, Viviani in what will be mouthwatering clash."

Cavendish is no stranger to Six Day London, having paired with Sir Bradley Wiggins in 2016 where the elite British duo were pipped to first place on the final day by Belgian pair Moreno De Pauw and Kenny De Ketele.

In 2017, partnered with Olympic gold medalist Peter Kennaugh, he again had to settle for second place with the Australian pairing of Cameron Meyer and Callum Scotson coming out on top despite the Brits scoring the most points overall.

Last season's Six Day Series saw British Olympians Laura and Jason Kenny take part, alongside compatriots Katie Archibald, Steven Burke, Andrew Tennant and Elinor Barker.

Six Day London saw the Dutch team of Yoeri Havik and Wim Stroetinga win the men's general classification with Australian pair Ash Ankudinoff Georgia Baker taking the women's crown. In the sprint category, Germany's Maximilian Levy narrowly edged out fellow countryman Robert Förstemann

Additional riders and event information for Six Day London will be announced soon.

To see Mark Cavendish and Elia Viviani go head-to-head at the Lee Valley VeloPark, visit sixday.com<https://sixday.com/london/>. Tickets start at just £19.

Warwickshire advanced to the brink of Division One safety after Essex were forced into a dogged rearguard action on the third day of their Specsavers County Championship Division One tussle at Edgbaston.